The Moons Effect On Natural Childbirth

Did you know that some maternity units actually have more staff
available during periods of full moon?

I've always been fascinated by the moon's effect on nature, so when a
friend's wife conveyed to me what her midwife had told her during the
birth of their daughter, I decided to find out more about childbirth,
full moon and a possible link.

On speaking to various medical staff involved in natural childbirth,
the first thing I learned was that expectant mothers often experience
false signs of labor during full moon.

Contractions known as "Braxton Hicks" -- sometimes noticeable to the
mother and sometimes not -- become more pronounced and many travel to
the maternity unit in the belief that "it's time". Disappointed -- or
perhaps relieved -- they return home, the pains having subsided and
with no dilation of the cervix.

While these expectant mothers visiting the clinic with their mistaken
signs of labor are part of the reason why extra staff are needed, the
major difference is found in the number of women whose amniotic sac --
the water -- breaks.

Just as some women experience false labor pains, in cases where the
water breaking marks the start of childbirth, full moon is the time
when it's most likely to happen.

In order to discover for myself whether this could be true, I asked
several female friends how their births had started. Those who
responded with "the water breaking" were then asked the date of the
birth. On checking this against a moon phase chart, I discovered that
almost all had given birth on, or very close to, a full moon.

The theory is that the moon's gravitational pull effects the amniotic
fluid in much the same way as it effects the water in the sea, rivers
and even the water that's otherwise found in

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